


Cold Hands, Warm Heart

by lostintheclouds321



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: (Not a social media fic though), ? - Freeform, Amnesia, Bucky Barnes Has Issues, Civil War Team Iron Man, Gen, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Leave a comment and I'll love you forever, Nightmares, No one is doing well in this fic, Not Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Compliant, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker has Amnesia, Plane Crash, Survival, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Twitter, Whump, and will not happen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-27
Updated: 2020-01-27
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:06:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22424545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lostintheclouds321/pseuds/lostintheclouds321
Summary: When Peter's plane goes down and the kid is nowhere to be found, all hope seems lost.When Bucky finds a kid who can barely remember his name, he knows he has to help him.orPeter and Bucky must navigate through nightmares, the cold, and working life to get back home.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes & Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 37
Kudos: 503





	Cold Hands, Warm Heart

**Author's Note:**

> To Clarify:  
> Captain America: Civil War did not happen -> the Avengers didn't split up -> Bucky Barnes was never discovered  
> However, in this 'AU'(?) Bucky did escape HYDRA and start recovering his memories on his own.  
> Also, Tony still took Spider-Man under his wings because Nick Fury told him to or idk, make something up, it isn't brought up.

Just a few hours ago, Tony had given Peter a hug as he sent him off to a youth science conference with no doubt that Peter would end up being the smartest one there.

Just a few minutes ago, he got the call from Happy. The plane had gone down in a rural snowy area after they lost control of it. Now, Happy was in some hospital in Ukraine, he’d been found unconscious a few dozen feet from the plane. There had been a trail behind him indicating that he’d been dragged.

Peter was nowhere to be found.

Tony stared numbly at his cell phone. This was all his fault. If he hadn’t shown Peter the pamphlet for that stupid conference his kid would still be here. If he hadn’t sent them on that Quinjet he’d still be here. 

If the kid wasn’t already dead, then he would be soon. Without thermoregulation, Peter would freeze pretty quickly. The last thing he’d been seen in was a casual sweater and jeans.

Tony was going to have to call May.

But what would he do after that?

Peter woke up groggily. His head hurt like crazy and everything was ringing in his head. He was laying on the ground and a lot of him just hurt.

He was also wrapped in some sort of pelt. He didn’t know what kind of animal it had previously belonged to, but in the moment he didn’t really care. Peter was pretty sure it was the only thing keeping him warm.

His body was laid next to a fire and he was in a cave. On the walls were the writings of a mad man. He spotted Russian and English and drawings. There was an octopus, a star surrounded by circles, and all kinds of scribbles.

He didn’t really want to meet whoever’s cave this was but once he tried sitting up he knew he had no control in the matter. His entire body ached and he could barely lift his torso.

So he sat there for what felt like hours until he heard footsteps. Whoever they belonged to was either a slow walker or just really loud or maybe Peter’s hearing was just really good? Because they didn’t get there as fast as Peter was expecting him.

Luckily, by the time the cave resident had returned, Peter had regained some of his strength. Maybe his wounds hadn’t been too serious. Peter had no way of knowing.

Suddenly all of his hairs stood on edge and when he turned his head he saw an intimidating shadow grow on the wall. The on-edge feeling faded the closer the man got and when he turned the corner, Peter’s breath hitched.

The man had a scowl on his face and dark brown hair framing his frankly _scary_ face. He was clearly built underneath all the furs he was wearing, and it seemed like his entire left arm was metal and carrying the body of what seemed to be a deer. The arm was admittedly cool, but also terrifying, especially with the blood splatters on it. There was a deep red star painted on the side.

When Peter made eye contact with the man, his scowl lessened a bit. The man set down the deer on the cave floor before sitting across from the now extinguished fire.

“How are you feeling?” he asked in a surprisingly gentle voice. Peter didn’t think to question why he spoke English.

“Erm, better than when I woke up,” Peter started and with a little struggle pushed himself up into a sitting position, and against his better judgement kept talking, “Who are you? Where are we? What happened and why am I here?” his questions seemed endless but the man held up a hand.

“I’m Bucky, we’re somewhere in Europe. I’ve been traveling all across the continent since I escaped. You were in a plane crash and all alone, so I took you back here. What’s your name?”

Peter felt his jaw drop a little bit and made not of the whole ‘escaped’ thing, “Whoa really? That’s actually really nice of you, thank you. I’m Peter, um-“ but the rest of his name didn’t come to him. He was Peter _something_ and he was _some_ age and he must have been from _somewhere_ and had _some family_ or _past_ but he couldn’t think of any of it. He could remember formulas upon formulas that he’d practiced in a lab somewhere and stories he’d read, but he couldn’t remember anything about himself.

“I don’t remember. I must’ve had _something_. How did I get on that plane in the first place? Where was I going?”

“Sorry kid,” Peter’s heart clenched at those words, it was something he didn’t understand, “I wouldn’t be able to tell you.”

“Is there any town nearby?” he asked, with just a bit of hope in his voice.

Bucky shook his head with a sad look on his voice, “It’s a long trek and the closest hospital is even further,” and Peter felt his hopes get squashed a little, “Which is why I’ve started gathering supplies. We’ll need more furs and food so you won’t freeze to death. Also, you need to get better or you won’t last a day walking through all of that.”

Peter felt his eyes start to water a bit, “You’re gonna help me get _home_?” he asked. The word home almost pushed his tears to fall but he stayed strong. He felt warm when he thought about wherever he’d come from. That _had_ to mean he had something to return to.

“I know what its like to be without a home, I’m gonna do my best for you.” Bucky responded.

Peter wiped his tears and thanked his newfound companion.

Happy didn’t remember the crash very well. Just the time before they’d started falling, they’d been hit by lightning from the dark sky and lost control of all functions in the quinjet.

Peter was barely holding himself together, he kept muttering something about his parents, but Happy on the other hand had been hyper focused. In the quinjet were three capsules that Tony had specially designed to protect people in the possibility of a crash. Only one of them would open.

He’d tried to shove Peter in as the plane rocketed to the ground but got reverse treatment and the door locked on him.

He’d yelled at Peter until the plane crashed and he went unconscious.

He _knew_ that somehow Peter had survived because on top of no body being found, he had a vague memory of Peter pulling him out of the capsule and across the snow away from the plane before yelling for help.

It was supposed to be _Happy’s_ job to protect the kid so why was Peter so hell bent on the opposite?

When he woke up in the hospital without the little genius, he’d cried for the first time in what must have been years. How did they find him but not Peter? Why hadn’t they tried harder? Where was the kid now?

The next thing he did was call Tony.

Peter was really liking Bucky, even if he _was_ an escaped criminal or something.

Bucky was really sweet, he didn’t always talk a lot but he said a lot of smart things, taught Peter a lot about living in the snow and hunting. Peter didn’t really like the idea of taking any lives so Bucky did that, but he did learn how to making clothing out of hides and keep himself alive despite his inability to get warm on his own.

Bucky would also ruffle his messy curls whenever he did something right and it filled Peter’s chest with warmth.

Sometimes Peter would have nightmares. They were always very strange. He would be trapped under concrete layered upon concrete or he’d be falling and surrounded by heat. Sometimes words would echo through his head, _With great power comes great responsibility_. _If you’re nothing without this suit, then you shouldn’t have it._

Whenever he woke up from those terrifying images, Bucky would be there, brushing his hair out of his eyes and offering a steady shoulder to rest on.

When his dreams weren’t filled with horrors, he would be flying through a bright city. _New York_ , his brain supplied. And he hated that despite recognizing the location and the love he felt in his chest for it, he couldn’t remember it at all other than the tall buildings that seemed to carry him through the city.

None of his memories had come back to him and it was the most frustrating thing he’d ever gone through, at least as far as he knew. Bucky was a great comfort with that too. Apparently, he’d gone through a similar thing, except his memories had been _taken_ from him.

There was something more to that but Peter didn’t push.

Sometimes Peter would catch Bucky looking at him like he was looking for something. Or maybe even remembering some _one_. Peter didn’t know how he felt about that, but again he didn’t push.

All of Bucky’s problems seemed to be linked to whatever he escaped from an Peter didn’t want to bring up bad memories for him.

Bucky would often talk about his travels across Europe, and rarely about what he’d remembered from his past. Peter didn’t mind at all. All of _his_ personal experience had been with Bucky and he didn’t think that the older man would want to hear about his favorite molecule.

They were a week into getting all their supplies and Peter could feel the anticipation building in him like water against a _very_ weak dam.

Bucky remembered watching Peter crawl out of the plane, a man three times his size being dragged behind him. Or maybe, he just couldn't forget it. Moving the wreckage and hauling the other man probably took some serious strength. Strength like Bucky’s.

Bucky had watched as the teen wandered off in the wrong direction only to miss the vans that came to the wreckage and only left with the adult.

The way the kid put the other man before himself reminded him of something, someone he’d once known, but he couldn’t remember, as always.

When he’d gone to search for the teen, he’d found him almost blue and fallen over in the snow. He immediately took him back to his own shelter and built a fire for him.

Bucky watched as the boy’s bruises lessened in mere hours and when it didn’t seem like he’d be waking up anytime soon, Bucky went out hunting for food and coats.

The more time Bucky got to spend with Peter awake, the more his mind was dragged into the past. Not the murder that had been forced out of him, nor the time he vaguely remembered serving on the _right side_ , but simpler days with a friend and dancing and laughter.

Bucky was getting that with Peter. The kid always seemed to know how to cheer him up. He was worried; when they would eventually get Peter back to his home, Bucky would yet again be left all alone. Just like the monster he was.

When he had Peter by his side, looking at him like the sun shone out of his ass, Bucky could forget the blood on his hands, forget the torture he’d been put through, forget the burn of his metal arm against his flesh.

This kid was so selfless and he didn’t deserve to be in this shitty situation. He must have been important to be one of two people on a nice plane like the one he’d crashed in. A hero probably if his instinct, strength, and nature was anything to go off of.

Bucky liked to imagine a world where he could be a hero too.

Tony set down his empty glass. He hadn’t drank like this since, since, he couldn’t remember.

His mind was all muddled and he could barely stand to think about everything going on. Telling May that Peter had gone down and the search parties were making no progress was one of the hardest things he’d ever done.

Telling the kid’s best friend might have been even harder. While May had screamed and beat his chest and cried, Ned had just looked broken, like Tony had ripped apart his entire world.

Without thermoregulation and no prior experience with surviving in the woods, the chances that Peter had survived were slim to none. They’d probably never see him again. It had been a little over a week and today was the first day that the search party wouldn’t be out.

Tony spent his nights in the lab, absently building things he didn’t understand until they were finished. They were things that Peter would’ve liked: a robot dog, a remote control Millenium Falcon, an Iron Man watch. They were some of his simplest projects yet, but he couldn’t stop himself. All he could think about was Peter.

Pepper tried to be there for him but he pushed her away.

The kid was gone and it was all his fault.

Bucky had been right, trudging through the snow, laden with furs and supplies in their makeshift bags, was one of the hardest things Peter had ever done. His mind went to his nightmares of getting shot, lifting tons of concrete, holding onto an entire elevator of people.

Sometimes Peter wasn’t sure if the nightmares were his own machinations or memories. If they were real, he had to have been some kind of hero right? So why hadn’t they run into anyone looking for him?

It filled him with fear that maybe, maybe no one had noticed he was missing. What if all this was for him to go home to no one. Peter really hoped that Bucky would want to stick around. He was so cool! And he seemed to actually care about Peter. He was also super strong (even if Peter was stronger).

Over the last two weeks, Bucky had been a super nice companion. Plus, he gave really good hugs every time Peter’s thoughts started to go in a dark direction.

On their way to the small village, they’d set up their tent and made camp twice to rest. It was all worth it when they stumbled into the small town and an elderly man had taken them into his house out of kindness. They ended up working for him so they could save up for a train to the closest big city.

Their jobs were largely physical but Peter also helped him with some electronic struggles that he was having. After saving up for a few weeks, they’d accumulated enough money for their tickets.

Soon enough the two of them were on their way to Lviv in their out of place furs looking a bit out of time. They spent their extra money on new clothes once they got there and wasted no time trying to find jobs.

Really, Peter was feeling a bit anxious. They both got their own positions: Peter joined an English-speaking tech company and Bucky became a body guard for hire and a bouncer; they’d taken up squatting in an abandoned building; and they were doing well with food. But they didn’t have any concrete plans. With no passports and no names that they could remember for themselves, they had no real way to go anywhere.

They _had_ taken up the last name Volkov together and were passing quite well as brothers, especially since Peter hadn’t had a haircut since waking up at Bucky’s, but that wasn’t doing anything for them in the long run. He also didn’t know what they were going to do if they even got to New York. There weren’t exactly a lot of open apartments to squat in.

He buried his worries, focused on his work, and did his best to survive.

Their first ‘big purchase’ was an old laptop from a used electronics shop. With some minor tinkering it actually worked quite well for their needs. Somehow, Bucky knew a lot about the dark web so they were always looking for someone who would make them American passports, to no avail. It didn’t help that they would also need a visa.

Peter was trying to comb through New York news and look for anyone named Peter who was missing but if there was any news about him, it was buried under all of the other drama. Apparently, a hero _had_ gone missing: Spider-Man.

Despite any suspicions he might’ve had about _being_ Spider-Man, he ignored it. Because even if he was, what would it do for him? Absolutely nothing. He was all the way in Ukraine where no one cared about some ‘neighborhood vigilante.’

At this point, the two of them were just waiting for a sign to tell them what to do next.

**Spidey-Stan #1**

**@jesibelll**

<Where did Spider-Man Go? A Thread>

_replying to **Spidey-Stan #1**_

1 | Our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man hasn’t been spotted for 73 days. Of course, that doesn’t mean he’s been missing for all that time as he doesn’t patrol every night. The search parties for Spider-Man started after two weeks. People checked in alley ways, dumpsters, anywhere

2 | they could think to look. This was all to no avail. The search ended after a week. There are a few theories that have been popping around.

The most grim one is, of course, that he’s dead. The only support surrounding this is that he hasn’t been spotted. We’d like to think that

3| if someone knew their friend/family/colleague was Spider-Man and he had died, they would say something about it. Of course, this isn’t a guarantee.

Another idea, is that he’s on vacation/on a mission out of New York. We know he’s not an Avenger (officially), but he /does/ have

4 | connections to SHIELD via @TonyStark aka Iron Man. This would make sense as he doesn’t have any verifiable social media and he disappeared in winter break (could he be a college student?)

After those, are some pretty baseless theories:

  * He got really sick
  * He gave up being Spider-Man (with no warning? Doubt)
  * He’s on hiatus



5 | Neither Tony Stark nor the Avengers have made any formal comment on his disappearance, but Tony Stark has only made three public appearances in the days that Spider-Man has been missing. Pepper Potts, the CEO of SI, declined on behalf of SI and Stark to comment on SM’s disappearance

5.5 | [Whether Tony’s lack of appearance is because of Spider-Man’s disappearance or the plane crash involving his personal intern Peter (his last name hasn’t been released) is debated in my other thread linked **here**.]

6 | The truth of the matter is that we have no idea where our favorite super-hero is. If you hear or see anything regarding the vigilante, DM me!!!

And Spider-Man, wherever you are, we’ll be waiting for you to come back whenever you can. <3

That’s the end of this thread, y’all!

Bucky read and re-read the twitter-thread. Then he read the linked thread. He had considerably more free time than Peter did, so the teen had introduced him to the social media site and told him to either have fun, or look up news about the area and Peter.

He’d found the thread on accident, but he was glad he did. Peter had already mentioned his suspicions of being Spider-Man, but wasn’t sure if that could help them any. This thread said otherwise.

Peter _had_ to be Tony Stark’s personal intern. They would have to get in touch with Tony Stark to get Peter home.

The ugly, twisted part inside of Bucky told him to keep the thread to himself. He and Peter were doing fine. As they were now, they could probably actually _rent_ an apartment and still do well for themselves.

If they just stayed here, Peter could eventually let go of his lost memories like Bucky had and they wouldn’t have to be separated. Bucky felt fond of the kid, Peter made him feel better about himself.

If they left, on the other hand, Bucky would be face to face with Tony Stark. Bucky only had faint recollections of the billionaire’s father, but he _does_ remember holding a gun to his head and firing.

If Tony connected the dots, Bucky would never see Peter again. In fact, he’d probably be dead. The man wasn’t exactly well known for his impulse control and Bucky didn’t think his metal arm would be any help against an entire metal suit with built in weapons.

Those thoughts went away when Peter came home and slumped over on their couch, “Bucky,” he said with a slight wobble in his voice and he knew what was going to come next, “I wanna go home,” he whispered, his voice broke on the last word and Bucky instantly went to go comfort him.

He pulled the kid into his arms and absently ran one of his hands through Peter’s curls, “You’re gonna be okay, we’ve got the savings, now we just-“

“Are we though? Because I don’t know if I can do this any longer. How long until we get our passports? How long until I find out if I have family or not?”

“You’ve always got me, kid,” Bucky whispered, knowing that no matter how quiet he was Peter would be able to hear it. Peter curled deeper into his side and cried on Bucky’s shirt.

The ex-assassin waited until Peter’s tears ran out before breaking the news, “I think I know who we have to contact, but I don’t know _how_ to contact them.”

Sure, Tony Stark had a twitter account, but his messages were closed to anyone he wasn’t following (which happened to be everyone but Pepper Potts).

Peter looked up at him with red-rimmed eyes, “Who?” he asked carefully as if Bucky’s answer could either put his heart back together or break it apart.

“Tony Stark, I just don’t know how to contact him, all his social media messages are closed off.” Bucky explained.

Peter looked away from him and his eyes were glazed over, “Tony Stark, Tony Stark,” he started repeating the name as if it would trigger a memory, Bucky held him tighter.

“Can you show me where you found this? I think I know what we can do.”

And then Peter got to work.

Tony wasn’t doing anything. Or rather, he _couldn’t_ do anything. For the past week, any time he thought of building something, his hands would freeze up or they’d start shaking until he drowned himself in alcohol.

So now he just sat in the kitchen staring at a book that Pepper had put in front of him. He could barely read the title. Announcing Peter Parker along with Spider-Man as deceased had been in the talks as of late and he couldn’t handle it.

He had started having dreams: dreams of Peter’s unverifiable but very likely death. Peter brought down in the wreckage of a plane. Peter shivering until hypothermia took over and froze all of his limbs. Peter, all alone and crying.

When FRIDAY spoke up, he practically bolted out of his chair before sitting back down, “What is it, FRI?” he asked numbly.

“You have a message on Twitter, and I think it might be of interest you,” she responded in a cautious yet eager tone, at least for an AI.

Tony pursed his lips, “I thought only Pepper could message me on there.” Even though she never did; they preferred to text, like normal people.

Personally, he didn’t like twitter all that much. He only used it when Pepper told him to. Peter, on the other time, was constantly getting notifications. Something about a civilian reporting service on there for Spider-Man.

Tony’s heart clenched and he pushed that thought away, he had other things- he had one thing to focus on when FRIDAY replied, “Exactly. Would you like me to read it to you, boss?”

“No, no, I’ll open it myself.” He said, carefully pulling out his phone.

As she had said, there was a single twitter notification on his lock screen. He quickly opened it up and his eyes froze on the words that he saw.

**@peternbuck**

_Hi, Mr. Stark. I’m really sorry to hack your account like this, but my friend (Bucky) read that your intern (Peter (also my name)) had gone down in a plane crash a few months ago. Well, I’m messaging you about this because I think I might /be/ that intern Peter. Bucky found me in some Ukranian woods around that same time and it took us a while to get to the city and to find out that your intern had gone missing._

_Anyway, this is just me trying to say that I might be that intern? Or, I already said that whoops._

_This probably sounds really weird, and I’m not trying to troll you or anything (I promise) but since I lost all my memories, you’re our best clue._

Tony’s heart had never beat this quickly before. His hands were shaking and he wasn’t even in the workshop. Could this really be Peter? What if it wasn’t? Could he just be setting himself up for another heartbreak?

He read over the words a second time, a third time. They even talked the same, in that nervous rambling way.

And if this were a scam, wouldn’t the scammers think to call him Tony?

“FRIDAY, can you find out where this account is tweeting from?” he barked out before steadying his hands to type out his response.

**@TonyStark**

_Send me a picture of you._

**@peternbuck**

_About that, our computer is really shitty. Could you wait until tomorrow? My, um, another computer I use has a camera._

_Or is there another way I could prove it to you?_

Tony let out a long breath. At least they’d responded quickly.

And no, Tony couldn’t wait until tomorrow.

“Boss? The account is coming from Lviv, it is close to the area your quinjet crashed.”

He took another breath in.

**@TonyStark**

_Fine, give me some other proof._

**@peternbuck**

_Uhm, well, I hope this counts but I’m pretty sure I’m Spider-Man? Of course it could totally be unfounded but I’m super strong, and I’m sticky, and I heal quickly, and I have this like, sixth sense???_

_Also I have these dreams) about things I would think Spider-Man has been through, like flying through New York, lifting a building off of myself, sometimes drowning._

More messages came through but Tony could hardly read them. He didn’t need any more proof.

That was his kid. Peter was alive!

He wiped his eyes, now wasn’t the time for tears, and sent his last message.

**@TonyStark**

_I’ll be there in five hours, kid._

Peter stared at the computer, then he looked at Bucky, “What does he mean by five hours? The shortest flight I found from Lviv to New York was eight hours. Could he be in Europe already? Do you think he believes me?”

“I think it means what it says, bud. You better start packing.” Bucky encouraged and Peter’s gut twisted.

“What do you mean? Bucky, you have to come with me!” Peter pleaded, “Do you not want to?” he asked, looking up at the man’s face. He could already feel his tears building back up again.

"Pete, you know that’s not it,” Bucky said in a gentle voice, “I just don’t think Stark is exactly looking to bring home an ex-assassin.” A point that Bucky loved to use against himself, as if he hadn’t been mind-controlled to do so.

Peter was so nervous it felt like his sixth sense was going off. This couldn’t be happening, “Bucky, I can’t do this without you! Tony Stark is a _stranger_ , how am I supposed to trust him? You have to come with me or I’m not going at all!” he demanded, feeling much younger than his years for the first time since he’d woken up in Bucky’s cave.

Bucky’s entire face fell with his words and he put his flesh hand on Peter’s shoulder, “Stark isn’t a stranger, I think he might just be family.”

“Well, aren’t you family too?” Peter asked.

And then Bucky came crashing into a hug. They’d be going home together.

Once there were no more tears to be shed, the two pulled apart and got a head with packing. With no further communication from the billionaire, Bucky and Peter just had to wait. They spent their time well though.

They logged into YouTube and watched some bootlegged movies on their ratty couch. They opened up their shitty phones and dialed everyone they’d kept correspondence with and said their goodbye’s. They waited for the whole life they’d built up here to fall apart.

Peter was the first to hear it. He did have enhanced hearing after all. He pulled Bucky up and to the window. They stuck their head out and up, above them was a jet decidedly not landing on the building, simply hovering.

The teen looked at him with a nervous face and Bucky shrugged, _such were the rich_.

They grabbed their single bag and headed up to the roof. Standing there was none other than Tony Stark and he looked at Peter like the kid was the world (Bucky would know, he looked at the kid the same way).

The billionaire rushed over, “Peter, it’s you! I swear, after we get you back home you’re never going on another plane.”

Peter cracked an awkward smile and Bucky could practically feel the anxiety coming off of him, “Sure,” was all he said and Bucky watched Stark’s face fall. The ex-assassin imagined he would feel the same if Peter ever forgot him.

“Right, you said you forgot everything, huh?” the man said stiffly. He looked like he wanted to reach over and give the kid a hug but probably found it wise to not spook Peter too much.

Peter just nodded.

Then Tony started to talk to Bucky, Peter used that moment to shift himself slightly behind the taller man, “You must be Bucky, right?”

Stark offered him his hand to shake, Bucky reluctantly took it, “Thanks for helping me get Peter home, I can take his bag to the jet.”

Bucky didn’t know what to say back to that, he knew Tony wouldn’t want him wherever Peter was, but what about what the kid wanted?

Peter tugged on the back of Bucky’s sleeve like a toddler would, “Actually, Mr. Stark, I want Bucky to come with us. He’s from Brooklyn!” Peter added with a slight grin.

Tony looked highly uncomfortable with Peter’s request and Peter’s hand on his arm was all that was holding him back from snorting. But surprisingly, the hero gave in.

“Okay, Pete. Whatever you want.”

And just like that, they were flying back to New York.

Once they were back in New York, Peter’s memories didn’t start coming back like they’d hoped they would. Having him try out the web shooters didn’t trigger any emotions. Even meeting back up with his family and friends seemed to get nothing out of him. Cutting his hari back to its normal length just helped him with the New York heat.

There was something keeping Peter from getting his memories back and there was nothing Tony could do about it.

The only thing Peter _really_ seemed comfortable with was Bucky. And there was something off about the guy, something that Tony didn’t quite trust.

The Avengers kept nagging him about going up to see Peter, but Tony personally thought it might be too overwhelming. May and Peter and Bucky had all been outfitted with rooms on his level.

Oddly enough, May and Bucky were getting along quite well. Of course, they mostly talked about Peter, but it seemed like they had the same gritty and determined personality and managed to not clash at all.

Their first step was to call in Helen. Then they took pretty much every brain scan they could. Apparently, the amnesia was caused by a blood clot in his brain. It had most definitely formed in the crash and Peter’s healing factor didn’t recognize it as something to ‘fix.’ They’d have to perform surgery to remove it and that scared the hell out of Tony.

Peter seemed fine to go through with it though. And when Tony saw Peter look at him with those untrusting eyes he started to feel fine with it too.

The procedure went well. May kept a hard grip on Bucky and Tony’s hands as Peter went in and when Helen and her team came out of the surgery. It was pretty nerve wracking for all of them.

Of course, Peter didn’t wake up with all of his memories back instantly, just a bit of wooziness and a small square shaped back of shaved hair on his head. Helen told them that the neurons had to take their time to rebuild their connections.

They didn’t explicitly talk about the memories as they came back, but one night FRIDAY told him that Peter had asked if he was up and Tony was out the door. He found the kid curled up on their massive couch.

“Pete? Are you okay?”

And then he looked up at him with those big, brown, bambi eyes and for the first time in a long while it was with recognition.

Peter had sprung off the cushion and over Tony. He gave the billionaire a welcome hug and started crying, “I’m so sorry I forgot you, Mr. Stark,” he had mumbled into his shirt.

Tony just patted his back and assured him that he had no blame in losing his memories.

Once they were closer again, Tony started to warm up to Bucky. Peter told so many stories involving the man that his feelings of worry started to go away.

(And if one night, Bucky confronted him about his parents and Tony forgave him, that was between the two of them.)

Soon enough, it was time for Peter to go back to school, summer break was over and he’d already gotten the first month off. Of course, he hadn’t quite gotten back to Spider-Manning yet. But it was the small steps that counted.

It was when Peter was away from the tower that the Avengers were finally allowed back up. Imagine Tony’s surprise when Bucky already knew one of them.

Steve had walked in with a smoothie and the second he saw Bucky it fell to the ground. Tony thanked all the powers that be that he didn’t have carpet.

“Bucky,” was all he had to say before the ex-assassin went crashing into his arms in the hug of the century, “How are you still alive?” Cap has asked into Bucky’s shoulder.

The brunette just shook his head, “I think that’s a question for another time.”

Tony and the Avengers let them have their moment, and when Peter came back the somber mood they’d all been in was instantly lifted.

Peter was home safe, Bucky had become a new addition to their family, and Tony was finally happy again after a long, long winter.

**Author's Note:**

> I had this idea for a long time and was only sparked to read after I came across a bucky and peter fic. I refused to read it until after I wrote this,,, but then I lost it in my 400+ tabs 😭
> 
> Thanks for reading, if you liked this, feel free to check out my other Bucky & Peter fic:  
> [gone and going](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29474313)  
> or the other ones on my profile, whatever works.


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